Book reviews

The Little Buke of Dublin (Or How To Be a Real Dub). New Island, July 2000

‘Good book. You should write another one’ Bono

‘Thanks be to God Dave Kenny isn’t clever enough to write a big book, this one is brutal’ Dustin the Turkey

‘A feast of nuggets for the aspirant Dub’ Sunday Tribune, 16 July 2000

‘A crash course in how to become a Real Dub’ Sunday Times, 16 July 2000

‘It takes something special to be a real Dubliner, so if you’re from outside the city and doubtful that the essence of Dublin will rub off on you, you’d be well advised to get yourself a copy of The Little Buke of Dublin. Informing you how to walk, talk, eat and drink like a real Dub, the compact book also tells you how to write like James Joyce, compose Real Dub walking songs and recite Real Dub fables and legends. Honest!’ Aer Lingus Cara magazine, January/Feb 2001

‘Written in the style of Myles na Gopaleen without ripping him off … if you want to scream laughing, get this book – but don’t read it in public’ Sinead O’Connor, Sunday Independent Books of the Year, December 2000

‘Essential reading for freshers. A mine of interesting, useful information which would otherwise take at least until you’ve repeated final year, twice, to figure out.’ Hot Press [missing the point entirely] August 2000

 Reviews of Erindipity The Irish Miscellany (Mentor Books)

‘I loved this book’ Rick O’Shea, 2FM

‘Very funny’ Derek Mooney, RTE Radio One

‘A real font of information, useful and otherwise’ Ireland’s Own, Christmas 2006

‘Hilarious… Erindipity manages to blend fact and fiction while poking fun at itself and the glut of miscellanies which claim to tell us everything about all things Irish’ Evening Herald, 16 November 2006

‘Answers a lot of questions that you would never even have thought of asking’ Sunday Tribune 19 November 2006

‘At long last here are all those useless facts about Ireland that were left out of the history books’ Daily Mail 23 November 2006

‘Ingenious, informative, witty and hilarious and downright daft in places’ Dave Fanning, RTE

‘Eclectic, eccentric and entertaining’ Irish Independent, 24 November 2006

‘Heartbreaking work of staggering genius’ Sunday Tribune, 26 November 2006

‘Will amaze, amuse and annoy in equal measure’ The Irish Sun, 30 November 2006

‘Provides the best laughs by far… an excellent tome’ Irish Independent, 9 December 2006

‘I particularly liked the bit about the best place to keep cheese’ Joe O’Shea, RTE’s Seoige and O’Shea Show, November 2006

‘Kenny excels in uncovering crazy, I’m not-making-this-up stories of bizarre events in Irish history. One to keep handy for dipping into whenever you feel the need of a good laugh’ Living IT, January/February 2007.

…and on Erindipity Rides Again

‘Kenny is one of a kind. Thanks be to God’ Gerry O’Regan, Editor of the Irish Independent

‘Kenny writes in a breezy, chatty, and informative style, dropping the occasional groan-inducing pun with more precision than a scud missile, and then gains easy forgiveness by rattling off a potted history of everything from spitting on babies, to Teddy’s Ice Cream Shop in Dun Laoghaire, with a brisk, easy tone that sucks you in before you even know what’s happened’ Sunday Tribune, December 2007

‘A must-buy for Christmas’ Irish Independent gift guide

 

Reviews of The Brilliant Irish Flute/ The Inish Turk Beg Sessions (Warner)

‘A treasure of witty insights and throwaway observations; a gem’ Irish Times

‘Five stars out of five’ Irish Examiner

‘Really well-written … triumphant’ Evening Herald

‘Book/CD of the week’ RTE Radio One, February 2011

‘Incredibly witty, yet informative’ Songlines Magazine

‘Incredibly funny’ Hot Press magazine

‘Brilliant’ Barry Devlin Horslips

‘Revolutionary’ Hector on 2FM

The Trib: Highlights from the Sunday Tribune (Y Books)  July 2011

Miriam O’Callaghan: ‘Fantastic read’.

Pat Kenny: ‘A great summer read.’

Eason’s: ‘Book of the Month.’

Colm Toibin, Irish Times:

‘The anthology includes some excellent feature writing in response to a breaking news story. This, in a way, is the hardest thing to do for a Sunday newspaper and the most important. The journalist has to have new information, or at least a new angle, and has to make the story, which has been covered all week in other outlets, seem new and fresh. David Kenny’s account of the floods in Galway in November 2009 is as good at it gets in this context…

We live in an age when some things disappear and, oddly enough, some don’t. The picture postcard seems to have gone; so too the Irish Press group and the News of the World , not to speak of the telegram and the fax machine. But the cinema remains, despite the DVD, and the book lives on, despite the Kindle. It seems extraordinary, as people can read newspapers online for free, that large numbers are still buying them. We seem to like the print and the size and the way the eye can roam freely over the page. In a society like ours, which needs a large range of views and angles, the death of a newspaper like the Tribune is to be seriously mourned, and this anthology offers some good reasons why it will be missed.’

Mark Keenan, Sunday Times: ‘[David Kenny’s chunky compilation] provides a rich social snapshot of pre-Enda Kenny Ireland…  [and] captures the essence of the paper and proves a fitting tribute to the Sunday Tribune and its former staff.’